On the Trail of Madness

Feature length documentary, 100/52 minutes
Written and directed by Edgar Hagen
in production, completion 2024

The film confronts the repressed long-term consequences of Western political interference, military intervention and instigated wars on the populations of the Middle East and Africa. The result of these infringements is the displacement of millions of people who are forced to migrate and flee in search of safety and elementary living conditions. Europe's answer to this humanitarian crisis is an elaborate and developed border control system to limit migration, stem the flow of refugees - and divide worlds.In dialogue with the people affected, the film seeks for other solutions.

The Protagonist

Democracy, freedom, autonomy and the inviolability of human rights are the lifelong focus of Ulrich Tilgner, a former prime-time German political correspondent. In the film he returns to the Middle East, where he lived for over 40 years and reported for numerous media such as ARD, ZDF and SRF - and also goes to West Africa. As a pensioneer, he is freed from the media machine he once served and with which he has eventually come into conflict. The film examines Tilgner's experience of confronting the hopes of a young generation in the Middle East and West Africa. Challenged to navigate the future amidst the ongoing conflicts between war and peace. This generation faces the dilemma of either heading West or or to hold out under the most difficult conditions.

Artistic approach

The film centers on a journalist who breaks free from the constraints of traditional media and goes in search of the roots of peace and democracy in the midst of conflict. In dealing with Ulrich Tilgner and several local protagonists, the film examines the effects of political interference from the West. The search for the roots of the conflict leads the film to the front lines behind the European isolation systems, which is a cocktail of walls and many layers of physical and administrative measurements. In dealing with the complex local conditions, the different perspectives of those involved become understandable. The film questions its own assumptions and considers alternative paths to peace and understanding.